Staff feared that the red-eared slider turtle was dead.

Found on a porch in Pennsylvania

A turtle who was found frozen solid on a porch has been brought back from the brink of death by vets in Pennsylvania.

Medical staff at the Pennsylvania SPCA's Shelter Hospital were certain that the red-eared slider turtle, discovered in a container last week, was dead.

However, after a stint of 'warmth therapy,' recommended by a reptile expert at the University of Pennsylvania Veterinary Hospital, vets were thrilled to discover that the turtle was alive.

"When we looked there were no signs of life," said nurse supervisor Alicia Royer, speaking to Philly.com. "But turtles can go into a state similar to hibernation when their heartbeat can drop to one or two beats per minute."

The vets placed the turtle, affectionately named Elsa, on a heating pad under a warm lamp and towels. After two hours, Alicia lifted he reptile to remove ice from its foot and saw it move. She yelled to the staff: "she's alive, she's alive!"

"We were all super excited," she said.

Elsa is now receiving round-the clock care, pain medication, antibiotics and a diet of shrimp, turtle food, dried cranberrys and meal worms.

An anonymous tip-off to the PSPCA alerted human law officers to the turtle which was found partially submerged in a container on the porch of a home in the Tioga area of the city.

The turtle's owner surrendered it to the officers and PSPCA are now investigating to see if criminal charges are warranted.

Image (C) Greg Hume